Detachable hose with knitted fabric loops

ABSTRACT

A stocking welt is provided with integral, knitted fabric loops by which the stockings are attached to a panty or girdle garment by a fastener of small and thin dimensions. The loops are formed by float stitching wherein a number of selected needles are pulled down to sinker level, where they do not take any yarn, kept there for a selected number of courses and then placed back in action with the needles again taking yarn.

[72] Inventor Aaron lBurleson Burlington, NC. [211 App]. No. 742,082[22] Filed July 2, 1968 [45] Patented Aug. 31, 1971 [73] AssigneeBurlington Industries, Inc.

Greensboro, Nfi.

[54] DIETACIHIABLE HOSE Wll'llll KNITTED FABRIC LOOPS 6 Claims, 4Drawing Figs.

[52] 111.5. @131 66/172, 66/190, 128/535 [51] llnt.C1 1004b 9/54 [50]Field oi 2/240; 66/173,172,169,180,190,172 E; 128/535 [56] ReferencesCited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,499,172 3/1970 Milner 66/173 UX 3,516,2666/1970 Heggie 66/172 X 1,745,801 2/1930 Maclean. 128/535 X 1,843,2702/1932 Cottrell 66/173 2,276,953 3/1942 Fregeolle et al.. 66/172 (E)2,306,914 12/1942 66/172 (E) 2,349,746 5/1944 66/172 (E) 3,466,6679/1969 2/240 12/1931 66/173 German Printed Application No. 1,025,804,3/58, Franke (2), 2/240.

Primary Examiner-Wm. Carter Reynolds Attorney-Cushman, Darby & CushmanABSTRACT: A stocking welt is provided with integral, knitted fabricloops by which the stockings are attached to a panty or girdle garmentby a fastener of small and thin dimensions. The loops are formed byfloat stitching wherein a number of selected needles are pulled down tosinker level, where they do not take any yarn, kept there for a selectednumber of courses and then placed back in action with the needles againtaking yarn.

PATENTEU was! I97! 3,602,012

SHEET 1 OF 2 HTTOIA A VS PATENTEUAUG31 19?: 3.602.012

SHEET 2 BF 2 vwm ATTORNEYS DETACIIABLE HOSE WITH KNITTED FABRIC LOOPSBRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to hosieryand, more specifically, to stockings with welts having integral, knittedloops for attaching the stockings to a panty or girdle garment.

Girdles, girdle fasteners and garter for hose support are commonly usedand very satisfactory in many instances. A problem has occurred,however, in that skirts have become shorter, dresses tighter, and tightfitting pants, slacks and the like have become more desirable in women'swear. Hence, large bulky fasteners to join hose to girdles have becomeundesirable. One solution to the problem has been the advent of seamlesspanty hose but these are objectionably expensive in some instances sincedamage to the hose, for example, by a run will result in loss of theentire panty hose.

Another problem has been created with skirts becoming shorter since ofnecessity, stocking legs had to be made longer and girdles shorter. Veryfrequently, stocking welts have gotten much shorter and fragile to somedegree with the higher hemlines or shorter skirts styles. It has,therefore, been necessary to develop a stocking that would fasten to ashort girdle or similar garment without creating bulk in the fasteningmeans while at the same time having a sufficiently close connectionbetween the hose and the girdle or like garment to prevent flesh fromshowing.

A number of approaches have been suggested to solve this problem. Afirst approach has been to sew the stocking direct to the girdle. Thisis of course very expensive when a stocking runs because the totalgarment is a loss.

A second approach has been to sew the stocking to the girdie or likegarment with the use of a pull thread to permit raveling off of thestocking from the girdle when the stocking is damaged, as by running.However, this is unsatisfactory since there is no easy way to sew a newpair of stockings on to the girdle or panty garment.

A third approach involved the sewing of a piece of lace or fish-net typematerial on to the top of stockings. Hooks are provided on the bottom ofthe girdle for hooking into the lace or fish-net portion.

Still another approach utilizes a snap tab type metal fastener of thetype used with mens shorts. Because the stocking welt is extremelyfragile, the fastener has to be secured to a piece of elastic which, inturn, is sewed to the top of the stocking. This could be joined with amating member on the bottom of the girdle or like garment.

Another approach has been to sew elastic on to the top of a stockingwith integral button holes provided in the elastic. The stocking couldthen be buttoned or fastened to the girdle with buttons provided on thegirdle.

Other more complicated and less desirable approaches have involvedfolding stocking tops over elastic portions and the like. Hence, thereis an important need for the present development which solves theproblems of the prior art and costs essentially nothing to knit,especially when compared to the sew on, heat applied or similarfastening devices of the prior art.

Briefly, the present invention comprises a stocking welt which isprovided with sets of integral knitted fabric loops for attaching thestocking to thin fasteners which, in turn, are attached to a panty orgirdle garment. Preferably, the knitted loops are formed in the welt byfloat stitching wherein a selected group of needles are pulled down tosinker level with the yarn floating behind the pulled down needleswithout being taken by the needles. The selected group of needles arekept at the sinker level for a predetermined number of courses and thenplaced back in action with the needles again taking yarn. This has theeffect of shortening the fabric in the wales where the needles have beenpulled down as compared to the wales of the adjoining fabric where theneedles have not been floated thereby forming the raised loops in thewelt.

The above-mentioned objects, advantages and features of the presentinvention will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription of the invention when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. l. is a side elevational view of a hosiery welt formed inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary diagrammatic view of a course formedwhen a group of selected needles are pulled down during the formation ofa welt in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view diagrammatically illustrating aknitted fabric loop of the present invention integrally formed in a weltformed in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view from above of a stocking of the presentinvention illustrating the knitted fabric loops with one of manyfasteners which can be utilized to attach the hose to a panty, girdle orother garment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to the FIGS. and, inparticular, to FIG. 1, wherein a stocking having a welt 12 embodying theprinciples of the present invention is illustrated. The welt 12 isprovided with a plurality of sets 14, 116 (only two of which are shown)of knitted fabric loops l8 integrally formed in the welt of the stockinggarment for receiving fastener elements. As can be seen from FIG. ll,the fabric loops 18 in each set are placed at different heights on thewelt thereby providing a built-in or integrally knitted-in adjustmentmeans so that adjustments of the stockings can be made for short or longlegs. While each set of fabric loops shown comprise a plurality of loopsextending diagonally across the welt, it is to be understood that theloops 18 can also be arranged in various other patterns for aestheticreasons or other purposes. In addition, it is to be understood that anynumber of fabric loops 18 can be utilized in a set depending on thelength of the welt and the length and arrangement of the individualloops in each set.

The knitted fabric loops 118, as shown in the enlarged diagrammatic viewof FIG. 3, are made up of a portion 20 of fabric in the welt shortened aselected number of courses in the wales 22 as compared to wales 24 ofthe adjoining fabric in the welt 12. The length of the loop 18 isdetermined by the number of courses in the wales 22 of the loop whereinthe yarn is floated and no stitch loops formed and the resultingdifference in length between wales 22 for these courses and wales 24 ofthe adjoining fabric. Any selected number of courses in wales 22 can befloated depending on the length of the loop 18 desired. The embodimentillustrated in FIG. 3 is 20 courses long (extending between course n andn+22) and loops of 16 to 20 courses are typical of those employed. Asshown, the yarn of course n+2l is utilized to interconnect course n ofthe knitted fabric loop 18 with course n+22 of the knitted fabric loop.The effect is to form folds 26 in the welt adjacent each end of the loopthat are joined by the fabric loop or bridge 18 which is raised relativeto the welt. Behind the fabric loop or bridge 18 are floated portions ofyarn 30 which each extend between the loops 32 of wales 241.

The knitted fabric loops can be as many wales in width as desired.However, typically the width for loops 16 to 20 courses in length hasbeen 8 to 10 wales. Of course, the lengths and widths of the knittedfabric loops set forth in the specification are merely exemplary and inno way are the loops restricted to such dimensions.

The knitted fabric loops of the preferred form of the invention can beformed by float stitching on conventional single or multifeed circularknitting machines and the like, wherein the cams in the machine are setto drop or pull down a group or groups of selected needles for aselected number of courses during formation of the hose and, inparticular, during formation of the welt of a hose. The method offorming the integral knitted fabric loop can best be understood fromconsidering FIGS. 2 and 3 in conjunction with the following paragraphswhich set forth the method of forming a knitted fabric loop.

During the knitting of the welt or some other portion of a hose, groupof selected needles of a knitting machine (e.g.,' 8) are pulled down tosinker level and kept there for a selected number of courses. Duringthis period, when the needles are pulled down to sinker level, theneedle hooks of the group do not take yarn but the yarn is floatedbehind these pulled down needles forming courses, such as the one shownin FIG. 2 and those shown in FIG. 3 between courses n and n+2l where afloated portion of yarn 30 is shown extending between loops 32 of wales24.

After the selected number of courses have been knitted, the group ofselected weedless are placed back in action whereby a course such asthat shown in FIG. 3 (course n+2l is formed having loops or drawstitches34 extending between and interconnecting the loops of course n and n+22.The knitting of the welt then proceeds in the usual manner with courseshaving no floated portions being formed such as course n+22.

The portion of fabric 20 formed by interconnecting courses It and n+22by course n+2l forms the bridge or loop 18 which stretches between folds26 in the welt adjacent the ends of loop 18. The horizontally extendingfloated portions 30 of courses n+1 to n+20 form the section of weltbehind the loop 18. Since there are no loose thread ends formed, noraveling of the welt occurs in the area of the loops 18 and a durableloop is produced.

FIG. 4 illustrates a stocking of the present invention which is attachedby hooks 40 to a panty or girdle garment 42. The hooks 40 are preferablyof small and thin dimensions and when used with stocking l eliminatesbulky fastening means as well as providing a means for easily attachingand detaching a stocking from a support garment 42. As can be seen, thehooks 40 readily pass through vertically extending apertures 44, 46formed between the side edges of loops l8 and the adjacent sections ofthe welt.

It should be noted that although the welt is preferably made with doublethickness fabric, as shown in FIG. 4, the welt of the goods can be madewith single thickness fabric. It should also be stressed that theintegral knitted fabric loops can be formed in other portions of a hoseand are not restricted to use in the welt. In addition, although theknitted fabric loops have been shown on the outside of the welt, theycan also be located on the inside of the welt if desired.

While in the preferred form of the invention the knitted fabric loopsare made by floating the selected group of necdles, it is alsocontemplated that knitted fabric loops could be formed by tucking on thesame needles rather than floating or by a combination of tucking andfloating to leave holes in the fabric which define a fabric loop orfabric bridge. Although the preferred form of the invention has beenshown and described, it is to be understood that all suitablemodifications and equivalents may be resorted to which fall within thescope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed is:

l. Hosiery having at least one integrally knitted fabric loopincorporated therein for receiving a hosiery fastening means, saidhosiery comprising:

a first set of wales in a plurality of courses along which said knittedfabric loop is located,

a second set of wales in said plurality of courses comprising aplurality of adjacent wales on each side of said first set of wales, and

a plurality of drawstitches in one of said sets of wales,

said drawstitches being drawn together over a plurality of floats insaid one set of wales thereby causing a difference in the lengths ofknitted fabric along said first and second sets of wales in the regionof said loop for defining a bridge of different length fabric in saidfirst set of wales, which bridge comprises said integrally knitted loop.

2. Hosiery as in claim 1 wherein:

said drawstitches are disposed in said first set of wales and are drawntogether over floated courses therein to define a bridge of shorterlength fabric protruding above said floated courses to provide saidintegrally knitted fabric 3. Ho iery as in claim 2 wherein thedrawstitches in said first set of wales are disposed adjacent to oneanother.

4. Hosiery as in claim 1 wherein said loop is formed in a hosiery welt.

5. Hosiery as in claim 1 including a plurality of said loops disposedalong spaced apart first sets of wales located about the circumferenceof a hosiery welt.

6. I-Iosiery as in claim 1 wherein said drawstitches are drawn acrossall of said plurality of courses less two. I

1. Hosiery having at least one integrally knitted fabric loopincorporated therein for receiving a hosiery fastening means, saidhosiery comprising: a first set of wales in a plurality of courses alongwhich said knitted fabric loop is located, a second set of wales in saidplurality of courses comprising a plurality of adjacent wales on eachside of said first set of wales, and a plurality of drawstitches in oneof said sets of wales, said drawstitches being drawn together over aplurality of floats in said one set of wales thereby causing adifference in the lengths of knitted fabric along said first and secondsets of wales in the region of said loop for defining a bridge ofdifferent length fabric in said first set of wales, which bridgecomprises said integrally knitted loop.
 2. Hosiery as in claim 1wherein: said drawstitches are disposed in said first set of wales andare drawn together over floated courses therein to define a bridge ofshorter length fabric protruding above said floated courses to providesaid integrally knitted fabric loop.
 3. Hosiery as in claim 2 whereinthe drawstitches in said first set of wales are disposed adjacent to oneanother.
 4. Hosiery as in claim 1 wherein said loop is formed in ahosiery welt.
 5. Hosiery as in claim 1 including a plurality of saidloops disposed along spaced apart first sets of wales located about thecircumference of a hosiery welt.
 6. Hosiery as in claim 1 wherein saiddrawstitches are drawn across all of said plurality of courses less two.